Dept. Chair, Associate Professor
Assistant Professor Daniel Soto comes to SSU from Columbia University, where he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Earth Institute working on solar micro-grids in Mali and Uganda. Daniel earned his Ph.D. in Applied Physics at Stanford University. He also has an M.S. in Physics from San Francisco State University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Prior to his return to academia, Daniel worked as an engineer at two startup companies creating optical micromechanical devices for laser displays and optical communications.
Ph.D. Applied Physics, Stanford University, 2010
M.S. Physics, San Francisco State University, 2004
B.S. Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 1994
Daniel's teaching interests are in energy efficiency and energy generation. He enjoys teaching both large-scale issues involving energy and analysis of small-scale energy systems. The potential for energy efficient technologies and approaches to improve human wellbeing motivates his research. In the developing world, he investigates new approaches to lower economic barriers to energy access and how energy efficient appliances can lower the cost of energy access. Daniel is also interested in the use of computation and communication technologies to impact energy problems and disseminate information.
Daniel Soto "A consumer-centered analysis of solar lantern purchase", IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, San Jose, CA 2014.
Mitchell Lee, Daniel Soto, Vijay Modi, "Cost Versus Reliability Sizing Strategy for Isolated Photovoltaic Micro-grids in the Developing World" Renewable Energy, 2014
Daniel Soto, Vijay Modi, "Simulations of Efficiency Improvements using Measured Microgrid Data," IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, Seattle, WA 2012.
Achintya Madduri, Javier Rosa, Daniel Soto "Efficient Microgrid Management System for Electricity Distribution in Emerging Regions," IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, Seattle, WA 2012.
Daniel Soto, Matt Basinger, et. al., "A Prepaid Architecture for Solar Electricity Delivery in Rural Areas," International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, Atlanta, GA 2012. (doi:10.1145/2160673.2160691)